Silent Dances

by A. C. Crispin

  the wind - chime c ry stals, fragmenting into thous an ds of rainbows .

  The nest was emp ty , except for the hatching cloak haphazardly

  heaped in the bowl. Neither avi an w as inside . However , the structu re was not unoccupied.

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  Some of the rainbows weren' t from the c ry stals at all, but we re ,

  instead , a swarm of gossamer - winged , long-bodied insects. They flitted around , captu ri ng the sun on wings and bodies an d re fracting it. The arc of their perpetually moving tr an slucent wings tu rn ed them into flying rainbows.

  Those must be the insects that interested the Grus in cry stal wind chimes!

  Tesa realized delightedly.

  An adult Grus entered the shelter, slipping gracefully through the entrance. It

  was Weaver, Tesa decided . Her long avi an face seemed by now ve ry different from Taller's. "Is the chick still sleeping ?" the Grus asked . "

  Taller would have warmed him, but you ' re his parent, too, so we

  decided you could do that as you slept . It gave us a chance to feed .

  We collected food for you . Have you seen all the shimme ri ngs ?"

  Weaver was obviously ve ry awake.

  Tesa rubbed her eyes, realizing with a pang that there'd be no coffee from

  her favori te chef today . She felt a sudden squirming , then the chick popped out from under the covers. He opened his mouth, probably

  cheeping , so Tesa purred at him. This mollified him , an d he burrowed back under the cloak.

  " That won't keep him quiet for long," Weaver assured her. "He's hung ry ."

  Taller entere d . " While you slept , I thanked the Sun Family for our good fo rt une ," he signed to Tesa , "an d told the flock that the hatching went well . Now you're awake , and hung ry ?"

  Tesa nodded, and indicated the cloud of i ri descent insects.

  "'Shimmerings ,'" he signed . He st re tched a wing , watching as dozens of the creatu re s alighted along his feathers, like living jewels . "

  They hatched sho rt ly after you fell asleep. This is the first hatch in a

  long while . It's a good sign. The shimme ri ngs predict rain , which me an s plentiful food . And they're excellent food themselves ." Casually, he plucked the insects off his wings , tossing them to the back of his

  throat like so many grapes . They seemed to take no notice , as more

  alighted in their place . " Chicks hatched the same day as the

  shimmerings ," he signed , " a re blessed."

  "But the shimmeri ngs a re gifts of the moons ," Weaver wa rn ed . " The chicks a re promised lives of newness and ch an ge."

  Tesa thought of the Chinese curse, " May you be bo rn in inte re sting times."

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  SILENT DANCES 123 When the chick ' s head popped out again , he

  saw his natural

  parents. He scrambled out, hobbling clumsily , fluttering his wings

  endearingly , his beak opening an d closing . Weaver snapped up a shimmering and, with fingers and bill, quickly dissected out the soft

  thorax , offe ri ng it to the chick, who gobbled it down.

  "Puff told us human s don ' t eat many insects ," Weaver commented as she set about preparing another morsel.

  "Some humans still do," Tesa signed , crawling out from under the

  feather cloaks . " Nowadays , though , the re 's not much insect-eating on Earth." Especially not before coffee, she thought.

  "Intere sting ," Weaver signed with the kind of movement that told Tesa she wonde re d how the human had ever su rv ived childhood . The chick had finished off six segments an d now burrowed under Weaver '

  s plumage as she settled herself on the nest.

  "Come outside and eat," Taller bid the human , "while the food is still fresh."

  As she stepped out of the shelter into the full light of day, Tesa paused.

  Every thing about this mo rn ing on this alien world , with these alien people , had seemed as normal as summer tipi camp. Now, she looked

  at the marsh and felt a rush of ve rt igo , as if she were on a time

  machine, hu rt ling so far back that she could see the Mennominees in

  birchbark c an oes gathe ri ng ri ce in Wisconsin , or the Athabasca whose name meant " a place of reeds an d grass eve ry where." Around her the re was nothing but dist an t hills, marshl an d, tule hutches , and swaying re eds.

  Tesa could not see the lan ding pad, the camp shelter, or the

  shuttlecraft . She could have been the only human in the World , alone with the White Wind people . B re athing deeply, she dr an k in the smell of the World, the smell of her new home.

  Holding her han ds out , she prayed her th an ks for the beautiful day and the healthy baby.

  "A re you praying ?" Taller asked , his head cocked to one side. "We thought only First-One-There prayed, and only in front of the ..." His sign meant " hard square , talking, signing."

  Computer, thought Tesa . He must've seen Meg obse rv ing a telecast of a religious se rv ice . " The people of my world have

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  m an y diffe re nt beliefs . I like to sta rt my day with prayer."

  "Tomorrow , we'll pray together, then ." Taller was hocksi tt ing on the platform , re moving food from mesh bags that could be carried over a

  neck an d still permit flying. The re w as round - red fruit , hea rt- berries , large fe rn fiddleheads so tender they could be eaten raw , an d a pile of bivalves . The shimme ri ngs we re eve ry whe re, thous an ds of them, an d in the sunlight they we re even mo re sta rt ling . Suddenly she noticed an alien object beside Taller . It was silver , oblong -an d not from Trinity.

  " What is that ?" she asked Taller, indicating the thing. " This? Well, I don

  ' t know. I found it where the re eds begin. I thought you might've

  dropped it. It w as caught on the re eds by this webbed mate ri al ." He indicated the ca rry ing strap as he h an ded the object to Tesa.

  "Oh," she signed, feeling both foolish an d delighted, as she took it. "It ' s an insulated container." She uncapped it an d found a drawing inside

  the top - the ASL "I love you" sign. "Relaxed must have brought it this mo rn ing."

  At the sight of Thorn' s name - sign , Taller's crown fla re d suddenly , an d his feathers fluffed . Surp ri sed by his re action, Tesa explained , " It's f re sh , hot coffee . Won't you t ry some?"

  The avian' s re action subsided. "Yes, that would be nice." Picking up a long , nar ro w bivalve shell, Tesa pou re d him a taste . Taller clacked his bill as he savo re d the d ri nk . For once, he did not spray it eve ry whe re. " Interesting ," he decided. "It's be tt er each day."

  "If we leave the empty container where you found it, Relaxed might b ri

  ng us mo re tomorrow ." Tesa ca re fully watched Taller' s reaction to this suggestion.

  For a moment the avian seemed to be warring with his own feathers , but

  finally , he slicked them all down. "Puff told us that humans guard their ter ri to ry, but not against everyone."

  " Not against friends," Tesa ag re ed.

  "I've never understood that," he signed bluntly, " but you may find it hard to underst an d us." He indicated the sweep of marsh . " Here , we get plenty of rain an d food , but it ' s not like that eve ry whe re in the World , an d it isn ' t like that here eve ry fruiting season . Because I'm the leader , because I found this place to live , Weaver an d I have the best ter ri to ry. For years, we have had no child re n."

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  SILENT DANCES 125 He paused , as if re membe ri ng . " All those empty eggs we re hard on Weaver . We allowed others to share our

  food , so they wouldn ' t fight us for it an d splinter the people ' s loyalty.

  Then the hum an s came . Since then , we've been p re ssured mo re an d mo re for this place . I've allowed others to sha re it, hoping to keep the people's loyalty . But once we knew our egg was fe rt ile , that we would have a child -- then we
couldn't sha re anymo re ."

  His signs slowed. " The egg ch an ges us," he explained carefully. "It makes us jealous . Allowing you to come here was difficult, but now we

  accept you as our partner. Relaxed is not our pa rt ner , and he does

  not endu rè the look.' I'm not sure how I feel about his presence in our

  ter ri to ry, an d I'm not sure how I feel about his inte re st in you ." Taller re ached over an d moved a stone . " Are you in love with Relaxed?"

  "I don' t think so ..." Tesa felt confused, "not yet."

  "You speak like a youngster being cou rt ed for the first time ." That familiarity seemed to comfo rt him . " I'll re tu rn the container where I found it. If Relaxed comes, I'll tolerate him." He handed her the stone. "I made this for you."

  It was a well-crafted stone knife, made to fit her palm. "It's beautiful," Tesa signed, an d re ached for a bivalve. Its tough muscle yielded easily.

  Taller looked on indulgently. " By the time the chick grows fingers you'll

  be an expe rt ," he assu re d her. The little one's fingers would grow out of his wings as his feathers did.

  A flash of white among the re eds caught Tesa ' s eye . Taller must ' ve seen it also, since he was inst an tly on his feet, patrolling the platform

  with long, purposeful st ri des. Tesa could see several Grus near the

  bounda ry of clear water.

  Why are they here? she wonde re d , conce rn ed.

  Taller fluffed up, then dropped his head to his feet, arching his body into

  an ext re me bow--threatening the others to keep their distance . He was fu ri ous , his crown longer and b ri ghter th an she had ever seen it. In spite of this, a large male casually stepped out fr om the reeds into the

  clear water.

  Taller leaped into flight, landing near the trespasser. The others took to

  wing , but the lone male stood his ground. The two huge avians

  squared off , eye to eye , then Taller rushed the str an ger , wings outstretched , head extended. It was too much for the interloper , an d he flew off , Taller following him a sho rt dist an ce before circling back to the nest platform.

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  126 A.C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley T ri umphantly , the aged leader threw his head back and called.

  "Who was that?" Tesa signed when Taller finally sat beside her. "What did he want?"

  "That was Kills-the-Ripper," Taller signed. " He was in the escort yesterday, when Flies-Too-Fast was hurt."

  "I remember ," Tesa signed, recalling the avian that had been unable to save the yearling.

  "He's always wanted this territory, and the leadership of the White Wind

  people. He hates your people." Taller paused, looking warily over the marsh.

  "Last year, a Tree Ripper destroyed his nest shelter and t ri ed to eat his egg."

  Tesa looked alarmed, but Taller reassured her. "It happens to those who

  nest too close to the trees. The Ripper is a formidable neighbor ,

  usually tolerant of us, but if he has the urge to eat egg, it's usually safer

  to let him have it and lay another. But Ripper ' s egg was talking and he

  could not bear to see his son devoured . He rushed the huge animal

  and pierced him through the eye, ri ght into his brain, killing him. And

  he has been ve ry hard to live with ever since."

  I guess so, Tesa thought, amazed.

  "The people were swayed by that," Taller signed, "but, yesterday , when he couldn ' t catch the chick, he lost some of his name 's glory . He may t ry to gain it back some other way."

  "As your pa rt ner , what should I do ?" she as ked.

  "Protect our son," Taller told her. "Now, enjoy your breakfast while it's still fre sh."

  The rest of the day seemed, if anything , a lazy vacation filled with food , re st, and the care of a caref re e infant . This was the most relaxing time Tesa had had since the day she had been passed over for her tapping.

  She learn ed the sto ri es on the shelter ' s walls, though she still couldn

  ' t see their image ry, and fed the sleepy chick whenever he demanded .

  Tesa couldn't b ri ng herself to kill the lovely shimme ri ngs , so instead she offered other things . He needs a balanced diet , she told herself.

  As the suns dipped close to the hori zon , Tesa pulled her star quilt out of

  her backpack to incorporate it into her bed. When Weaver saw it, she

  became as inte re sted as Taller had been when he'd seen it in the

  Quonset hut.

  "May I have time to study this?" Weaver as ked, pee ri ng at the quilt , first with one eye , then the other.

  " Of course ," Tesa ag re ed.

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  SILENT DANCES 127 "This design is giving me ideas ..." Weaver signed,

  "but I'll need time to think about it."

  Once darkness crept through the shelter, Taller went to stand one-legged in

  the marsh, to guard his family through the night. It was too early for Tesa to

  even think of sleep, so she slipped outside. This would be a good time to

  look at Scott's electronic markers.

  When she stepped onto the platform, Taller was there, rigidly attentive,

  staring pointedly into the reeds. Tesa followed his gaze, worried, but then

  she saw the flash of silver that meant Thorn had come for the insulated

  container.

  "He's waiting for you," Taller signed, without taking his eyes from Thorn. His feathers raised slightly, then settled. "Perhaps you should tell him it would

  be better for him not to come anymore," Tesa suggested to mollify the

  uneasy avian. Taller stared at her. "Do you wish to speak with him?" She

  met his eyes levelly. "Yes, I do."

  Suddenly the avian riffled his feathers and shook himself all over like a dog

  settling his fur. "Then, by all means, talk with him," he signed, then stepped back inside the shelter.

  Taking advantage of her moment of privacy, Tesa slid down the

  embankment, slapped on her stilts, and quickly strode through the water.

  However, when she approached the reed line, she found herself strangely

  reluctant to cross that boundary.

  Thorn stared at her as the first moon lit the sky.

  "The coffee was wonderful," she signed, feeling inane. "I wasn 't sure he'd find it," Thorn answered, "or if he'd deliver it." He seemed reluctant to sign Tal er's name.

  "I looked for you on the bluff, but didn't see you."

  "I saw you now and again," Thorn signed. "You seemed pretty absorbed in

  what you were doing."

  It's happened, already, Tesa thought bitterly. We're different. He acts like I'm someone's wife, and I feel like one! "Does Meg know you're here?" she asked.

  Thorn smiled slightly. "Oh, yeah. We ... had a long talk. We understand each

  other. It's okay." He looked at her as though she were a hologram from

  another solar system. "I thought about you all day today--I couldn't get

  anything done. I can 't come any closer, but can't you come over here?"

  No, Tesa realized with a sudden shock, I can't.

  Thorn stopped smiling . " Is it going to work, Tesa, with you

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  an d the Grus? I've had a lot of second thoughts about it today." That

  startled her. "What are you talking about?"

  "I'm just not sure it ' s ri ght to expect you to live with them, become ...

  what? Taller's second mate?"

  He's just jealous, she told herself. He couldn't understand what the chick

  meant to her , what this kind of life meant to her. "Give it time, Thorn. Give me a chance to do my job."

  His quick smile re tu rn ed . " You' re ri ght . I'm just wishing we could be together." Thorn looked over her head suddenly, and she followed his gaze.

  Taller
had emerged from the shelter and was studiously preening. "You'd

  better go. Coffee'll be here in the mo rn ing ." He blew her a kiss and strode away.

  When Tesa climbed the platform, Taller stopped preening. "Your interest in

  him might be easier to understand," he signed , " if he were taller ." Befo re she could re spond, he flew to the clear water an d took up his one -

  legged watch.

  It was not until the third evening that Tesa had time to call up Sco tt' s

  markers that we re patiently waiting for her in the computer . The re we re six of them , one for each camera. Eagerly , she ordered the system to see if an y of the equipment was still functioning . Scott had put two cameras at each nest, just in case one failed . She wouldn't let herself

  believe there wasn't at least one functioning . She looked at the first

  nest. Suddenly the small voder sc re en went black.

  At the bott om of the dark sc re en she read that the first camera had

  been destroyed by lightning . Nest One's second camera had no video ,

  but it did have audio. Now, won ' t that do me a world of good? the young woman thought , disappointed.

  Fearing the worst, Tesa then asked the voder to tell her how many cameras

  we re nonfunctional . Her hea rt sank as she read that one camera at each site had been destroyed. Well, that still leaves me two working

  cameras, and this "hearing" one, she told herself optimistically. She asked the voder to connect her with the good camera at Nest Two. She'd

  carefully muted the voder earlier , so it wouldn ' t attract Taller' s a tt ention.

  The small screen abruptly flared into color and Tesa sucked in a sharp

  breath.

  She was looking at the edge of a giant nest built of sticks, twigs, an d tree

  limbs . On it perched a massive female Aquila, ruby - red eyes blazing , beak opened , screaming into the wind.

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  As Tesa watched, another of the bronze creatures, this one golden-eyed,

  landed, holding in its talons a stout limb.

  They're nesting! Tesa realized excitedly.

  The smaller, golden-eyed male fitted the limb carefully into the construct only

  to have the female rip it out and throw it over the side.